Patrickace
by tweetykiss AKA Anita
Summary: This is about a theory on Van Pelt's background and her falling in love with Jane. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

Patrickace

Chapter 1 – growing up years

_Disclaimer: I do not own this story since it is the property of CBS and it's staff._

Spring 1983

Omaha, Nebraska

If an ideal family existed, it was the Van Pelts. John and Diane went to high school together back in the early 1960s and then attended the University of Nebraska together. John became an English teacher at the local high school and Diane worked as a nurse for a doctor's office. They got married upon college graduation with a large attendance since not only their families and relatives attended but they made a lot of friends through the years. They honeymooned in Hawaii and John's parents gave a down payment on their house as a wedding present.

After a couple years of marriage, Gracie was born. She was the couple's pride and joy and looked exactly like Diane. Two years later, John II was born and the couple was very smitten with Junior. Gracie and Junior were very close and spent a lot of free time together. They loved the time they also spent at their grandparents' house. Nine years after Junior was born, James came along and everyone was taken with him. He was not only very precious to his parents but Gracie and Junior just could not bear to not be around him. It was hard for them to be at school and away from James. They adored their baby brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Growing Up Years – continuation

_Disclaimer: The following is a property of CBS in which the writer of this has no claim over._

Spring 1983

Omaha, Nebraska

It was early May during a weekend when John and Diane were barbequing. Gracie and Junior were playing with James who was barely a couple of months old. There were steaks, chicken, and hotdogs on the grill and Diane made potato salad and macaroni salad and chocolate cheesecake that her older children loved. John made his famous apple pie from his mother's recipe. While the steaks were sizzling, Diane observed her children and one again for the millionth time noticed that both Gracie and Junior had red hair just like herself and James had his father's dark hair.

John tells Diane "Do you really want to get up early for church or should we just see my father at the nursing home earlier than we usually do? John's father who was barely 70 years old already had Alzheimer's and had to be put in a nursing home. His mother passed away from ovarian cancer in 1978.

Diane says "Let's just go see your father. It will be good for all of us especially our children." She then planted a kiss on John's lips with John kissing back.

Diane then took James from the stroller and went inside to breastfeed the baby. She then told her older children they can come in or stay outside and keep their father company. After thinking of both the parts of Gracie and Junior, they decided to keep their father company.

After Diane went in the house, James then took a break and sat down with his older children and said to them "Your mommy and I were talking last night about going camping on Memorial Day weekend since we have not done that in a long time"

Junior says "Great, that is so exciting and is James coming too?"

John says "Off course he is coming patting Junior on the back."

Gracie jumps excitedly "This will be so fun Daddy. Just like old times!"

John explains "We could not do it for a long time since your mother was pregnant with James and then Winter set in but now we can all have our camping trips back."

Gracie says "I like camping with the Girls Scouts but our family camps are fun too."

John gets up and fixes plates for both Gracie and Junior making sure they get everything.

Junior says "Daddy, aren't you going to eat?"

John says "I would rather wait for Mommy. But you both can go ahead and start since you have not eaten since lunchtime and you have to make room for my apple pie."

Diane now comes out and puts James in the stroller.

John says "Honey, I just told Gracie and Junior about our upcoming camping trip." He then kisses Diane on the lips and she kisses back. He then fixes her plate and one of him too.

They are all now eating and Junior is talking about his growing bug collection.

Diane then laughs and says "You are very bright just like your father and so are you Gracie. God couldn't have given us better children." "The rate you keep your grades up, you will both have excellent futures like Daddy and I do.

Gracie then says "I want to be a nurse just like you Mommy."

Junior says "And I want to be a doctor."

John then says "Then you both have to keep up the hard work you do and we are not worried about it since you both are very intelligent."

Diane says "I am just so proud of all three of them."

After they got finished eating, they all helped with the clean up and put all the left-overs away.

Diane put James in bed and both Gracie and Junior took turns reading a story to him. Then Diane told them both they need to go to bed since they are seeing their grandfather the next day. Both Gracie and James are very happy with this.

Junior then asks Diane "Mommy how come Grandpa sometimes does not know us anymore?"

Gracie explains to James for what must be at least the hundredth time "Grandpa is now sick sometimes and that is the reason. That is also why he is in a nursing home."

Junior then asks Gracie "When will Grandpa get better?"

Gracie does not want to tell her little brother that their grandfather never will get better so she just says "I don't know but we can pray."

Junior says "Ok Sis."

Gracie then changes and feels bad for each time she hides the truth from her brother about their grandfather but she knows it will just break Junior's heart if learns about Alzheimer's. She then prays not only for their grandfather in the nursing home but her late grandmother who is now in heaven. She also dreams about her maternal grandfather who died of a heart attack back in 1975 that is also in heaven and then about her late maternal grandmother who passed away from respiratory failure back in 1980. She then goes to bed with all her stuffed animals that she adores and falls asleep already about their upcoming camping trip and all the family fun they will have the upcoming Summer.


	3. Chapter 3

Growing Up Years – Part 3

_Disclaimer: CBS has all rights to this story and I do not own this work._

It was a Friday morning just a week before the Memorial Day weekend when everyone in the Van Pelt house was awake and at the breakfast table. Junior and Gracie were already dressed for school and John was dressed for his job. Diane had James on a baby chair and he was content. She was making sure everyone had enough to eat. She had planned to take a couple of years off work to watch James at home and then return to work as a nurse. Her doctor's office told her that there would always be a job for her. Therefore she was up early with James and got coffee ready for John and breakfast ready for everyone. She had plans that when everyone else left, she would put James in his playpen and she would wash dishes and do some housework as well as make a list of what was needed to be done to get ready to go to Walnut Creek the following weekend.

Gracie then said "Six more days and we get to leave for Walnut Creek." She had been marking the days off her calendar in her bedroom and in her diary.

Junior asks "Daddy, are we going to catch a lot of fish this time?"

John says "Off course son, just like last time."

Diane says "Ok darlings, your bus will be here anytime and Daddy has to go to work."

Both children put their dishes in the sink and took turns giving their parents kisses while their parents kissed them back.

Neither Gracie nor Junior could concentrate that day since they were too excited. John was also having a hard time focusing on his task so he just had the class do some reading on their own and didn't get bothered if there was any side talking which the students found very unusual. They later talked about it after they got out of class and said "Mr. Van Pelt sure let us do what we wanted today, something is up". Another student snickered and said "He is just weird is all like who cares who signed our dumb constitution?"

Another student said "I know I will never need this in my life since I am going in my mother's hair stylist business. So this course is a whole waste of my time." The students all then went to their next class.

Meantime at the Van Pelt's house, Diane gets a phone call from Junior's school.

_To be continued_


End file.
